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| Foreign Minister Hor Namhong addresses reporters following talks with his Thai counterpart Monday. |
The foreign ministers of Cambodia
and Thailand
on Monday failed to reach bilateral agreement on an ongoing dispute involving
thousands of armed troops along the border that has led to at least one clash in recent weeks.
Foreign Minister Hor Namhong met with Thai Foreign Minister
Sompong Amornwiwat in Phnom Penh,
following a brief skirmish in which both Thai and Cambodian soldiers were
wounded near Preah Vihear temple early this month.
Cambodia
said in a statement Monday it wanted an immediate meeting between task forces
on each side for the “redeployment” of troops at a pagoda near Preah Vihear
temple; the withdrawal of Thai troops from two temples in Oddar Meanchey’s Ta
Moan temple complex; and that a third in the complex, Ta Krabey, remain
unoccupied.
The standoff between the two countries began in July over
the inclusion of Preah Vihear temple, and observers warn that a protracted
standoff could end in violence.
Hor Namhong said ahead of Monday’s meeting failure to reach
an agreement on the border could lead to a round of Cambodian appeals among the
international community.
Sompong was to take Cambodia’s requests to the Thai
government for consideration, a Cambodian Foreign Ministry spokesman said.